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- (No Model.)

T. M. MILLER.

GAR FENDER.

No. 570,943. Patented Nov. 10, 1896.

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UNITED STATES THOMAS M.

PAT NT OFFICE.

HALF TO CHARLES G. NIOKUM, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,943, dated November 10, 1896.

Application filed February 14, 1896. Serial No. 579,312. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS M. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethlehem, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Oar-Fender, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car-fenders.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of car-fenders and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one applicable to all kinds of street-railway cars and the like and capable of tripping and I 5 catchinga person and of preventing him from being thrown out of it and thereby injured.

A further object of the invention is to provide a car-fender which may be readily transferred, when desired, from one end of a car to the other, and which may, when one is employed at each end of a car, be compactly folded when not in use.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of 2 5 parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car-fender constructed in accord- 0 ance with this invention, the parts being arranged in position for tripping a person. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, the parts being arranged for confining a person in the fender. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, the parts 5 being folded.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the draw- 1ngs.

' 1 designates a car-fender comprising a ver- 0 tically-disposed back 2, constructed of netting or other suitable cushioning material and supported by a suitable rectangular frame 3, and a lowersection or bottom 4, constructed of netting similar to the rear section or back 5 and supported by a suitable frame 5, which is hinged to the frame 3 at the bottom thereof. The rear frame 3 of the back of the fender is designed to be detachably connected with the dashboard of a car, and may be mounted on the latter in any suitable manner, being preferably provided at its top with rearwardlyaccomplishing the same result.

extending supporting-hooks 7 and having slotted arms 8 at its bottom. The hooks engage similar eyes or hooks 9 of the car, and the slotted arms engage supports 10, having laterally-disposed studs or projections fitting in the slots of the arms. This construction enables the fender to be readily transferred from one end of the car to the other when a car is provided with only one fender which has to be reversed at the end of each trip.

The bottom of the fender is provided at its front with a hinged section 1l,con'structed of netting or other suitable material and presenting a slightly-curved convex surface and provided with atransverse roll 12, arranged to run on the track. The hinged section normally depends from the front of the bottom of the fender. It is adapted to trip a person to cause him to fall rearward upon the bottom of the fender, and it is connected with the hinged bottom'by means, hereinafter described, which cause the hinged front section to swing upward, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, to confine a person within the oar-fender to prevent him from being accidentally thrown therefrom and injured.

The front section of the car-fender is connected by front chains 13 or other suitable connections with the front ends of a pair of levers 14, which are fulcrumed at points intermediate of their ends on the back of the car-fender and have their rear terminals connected with the hinged bottom of the carfender at a point near the front thereof by rear chains 15 or other suitable connections.

The weight of a person resting upon the hinged bottom of the fender swings the rear terminals of the levers 14 downward and 9c swings thehinged front section to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. By this construction a continuous movable flexible connection between the hinged bottom and the hinged front section is provided, and 5 when a weight is applied to the bottom the force operates to swing the front section upward. This utilizes the weight of a person to swing the front section upward and obviates the necessity of employing springs for too The hinged front section is provided with a beveled lug,

16, arranged to be engaged by a resilient catch 17, whereby the hinged section is locked in its raised position. preferably consists of a flat spring or resilient plate secured to the frame of the bottom of thefender at one side thereof and having its outer or front end free and arranged to be engaged by the said lug 16. The front or bottom edge of the lug is beveled to enable it to readily depress the spiral spring and swing in advance of the same, and the rear or upper edge of the lug forms a shoulder to engage the free end of the spring-catch.

When it is desired to return the parts of the car-fender to their normal position, the resilient catch is depressed bya lever 18, fulcrumed near one end of the bottom of the car-fender at one side thereof and adapted to be swung upward to carry its end 19 into engagement with the resilient catch, whereby the latter is depressed sufficiently to permit the lug 16 to swing rearward.

IVhen the car-fender is not in use, it is capable of compactly folding, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings, and the parts are locked in their folded position by a pivoted catch 20, mounted on the back of the fender and provided at its outer end with a hook adapted to engage a headed stud 21 of the hinged bottom.

It will be seen that the car-fender is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is positive and reliable in operation, and that it is capable of effectually tripping a person or causing'him to fall within it and of preventing him from being thrown out of it and injured. It will also be apparent that the parts are automatic in their operation and that the car-fender may be compactly folded when not in use.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor The resilient catch details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a car-fender, the combination of a back,ahinged bottom extending forward from the back and disposed substantially horizontally, a hinged front section located in advance of the bottom, a pair of levers fulcrumed intermediate of their ends and located above the bottom, front and rear chains connecting the terminals of the levers with the front section and with the hinged bottom, a lug carried by the front section and located adjacent to the point of hinging of the same, a resilient catch mounted on the hinged bottom and arranged to engage the lug automatically when the front section is swung upward, and a releasing-lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends 011 the hinged bottom and arranged to engage and depress the resilient catch, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In 'a car-fender, the combination of a back, a hinged bottom, a hinged front section arranged in advance of the bottom, a pair of levers fulcrumed intermediate of their ends on the back at opposite sides thereof, front and rear chains connecting the terminals of the levers with the front section and with the hinged bottom, and a catch for locking the front section in its raised position, substantia'lly as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS M. MILLER.

\Vitnesses:

CHAs. H. WENHOLD, SAMUEL D. CORTRIGHT. 

